Brown fumes over BlueScope emissions

Steel maker
BlueScope
has revealed its carbon emissions reached record highs in 2010-11, after it received an advance payment of $100 million from the federal government under the steel assistance package announced as part of its carbon scheme.

The company said yesterday its annual emissions would fall following the closure last year of blast furnaces at Port Kembla, NSW, and Western Port in Victoria.

But Greens leader
Bob Brown
questioned why the company was being allowed to use advances from the Steel Transformation Plan to pay down debt and not invest in reducing the emissions intensity of remaining operations – which remains largely unchanged since 2009-10.

The company’s 2011 community, safety and environment report shows that in 2010-11 emissions from its operations rose to 15.9 million tonnes because one of its blast furnaces returned to full capacity following modification.

According to the report, the emissions intensity of BlueScope’s operations was also still above 2008-09 levels, but the company was looking to decommission or upgrade older, inefficient equipment.

“The company is continuously seeking to reduce its energy and greenhouse gas intensity."

But a BlueScope spokesman said the company would not be revisiting a decision to mothball a $1 billion co-generation plant in Port Kembla – which would significantly reduce emissions – until there was a mat­erial change in economic circumstances. Just before Christmas, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency,
Greg Combet,
announced that the government had agreed to advance the company $100 million, under the $300 million Steel Transformation Plan.

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As part of the agreement with the government for the advance, BlueScope would use the funds “to build competitiveness by investing in research and development, undertaking environmental improvement projects, maintaining equipment to ensure optimum performance, and operations restructure".

The assistance package, along with the allocation of free permits under the carbon scheme for trade­exposed industry, would fully offset the impact of the emissions scheme.

But while the assistance package was announced by the government at the same time as the details of the carbon price scheme, there is no requirement that it be used by companies to reduce emissions. As a result, BlueScope has flagged some of the funds will be used to reduce debt of about $1.6 billion.

Senator Brown said the company should explain how it would use the money to reduce its emissions or it should be invested in “green jobs".

“There is many a business in Australia that would like a government handout to reduce its debt but what we wanted to do with this money was to reduce the debt accruing from its impact on the atmosphere," Senator Brown said.

“The government and [Resources Minister]
Martin Ferguson
will be required to explain what the dividend is for Australians and the wider Illawarra community," he said.

Mr Combet was not available for comment yesterday.

But, when announcing the advance of the assistance on December 21, he said the payment recognised the “significant challenges facing the steel sector, including a high Australian dollar, continued weak domestic demand, higher raw material prices and excess supply in international steel markets".